Everywhere I look, someone is offering me advice about my dog for Thanksgiving.
How to travel with her. What to feed her so she doesn’t get sick. How to groom her for holiday pictures.
But no one has offered advice about the most important topic.
Should I invite my dog to Thanksgiving dinner?
The Quiz
Ask yourself a few questions so you can decide if your pup belongs at the Thanksgiving table.
1. How do you feel about feeding your dog table scraps?
A. Are you kidding me? It’s a dog. Kibble is good enough.
B. No way. My dog is on a perfectly balanced diet. Do you want her to get pancreatitis?
C. A little morsel of turkey or string beans won’t hurt. And it makes him so happy.
2. What does your dog do around people food?
A. I wouldn’t know. Dogs aren’t allowed in the room where we’re eating.
B. I’ve perfectly trained my dog so she never shows any interest in people food.
C. The smell of giblets inspires his biggest smile. And he looks darn adorable.
3. How well does your dog get along with visitors?
A. My dogs hang out in the basement when guests come over. Along with the kids. It’s neater that way.
B. I insist that my dog sit before greeting anyone. And then she has to stay on her pillow until guests leave.
C. We watch him carefully to make sure he’s comfortable and having fun. I think he enjoys all the extra attention he gets.
4. What’s your dog’s favorite way to spend the day?
A. Do dogs care about anything but walks, sleeping, and food?
B. I plan lots of structured activities to tire my dog out, stimulate her brain, and strengthen her training.
C. With me, of course. He’s usually happy no matter what we do. As long as we’re together.
5. How does your dog feel about football?
A. What?
B. I’d never let my dog watch television. It rots the brain.
C. After a big meal, my dog and I would both benefit from tossing a ball around the yard.
6. When you’re busy working in the kitchen, what does your dog do?
A. Dogs don’t belong in the kitchen. We prepare food there.
B. After I take her for a five-mile hike in the mountains, she’s ready to sleep in her crate while I’m cooking.
C. We mix things up so he gets breaks for tug and if he sits quietly on his bed, I toss him an occasional treat.
7. What kind of centerpiece would your dog most appreciate?
A. Are you stupid? Dogs don’t notice those things.
B. My dog has hundreds of dollars worth of food puzzle games. Why would she ever need another centerpiece?
C. My dog is my favorite centerpiece. And I am his.
So you should invite your pup to share Thanksgiving dinner with you?
If you answered mostly A’s, you didn’t even take this quiz. Because you’d never think of inviting your dog to Thanksgiving dinner.
If you answered mostly B’s, you’re a total overachiever. You probably invented an entirely new holiday to celebrate with your dog.
If you answered mostly C’s, you can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t invite their dog to Thanksgiving dinner.
We’re thankful for you, our wonderful readers. The way you love your animals gives me hope for the world. Happy Thanksgiving.
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Oh boy I’m a mixture of Bs and Cs 🙂
Then you’ve come to the right place. Something Wagging is definitely geared toward the loving-dog-person-who-sometimes-goes-a-little-over-the-top market. 🙂
Well, of course I got C’s…unfortunately, we’re going out to dinner so Jack & Maggie will get doggie bag leftovers only.
Y’know, I bet Jack and Maggie won’t mind a bit that they get to sleep in the sunshine while waiting for their doggie bag to be delivered. 🙂
We’re thankful for your amusing, thought provoking posts! Happy Thanksgiving!
And right back atcha, Emma. You’re the funnest dog blogger I know.
Love this post!! I confess – I answered with all C’s!! Unfortunately for Callie, Shadow, and Ducky, I can’t invite them to our Thanksgiving dinner because we will be eating ours at the diner this year. (Cracker Barrel was a big disappointment last year.)
Personally, I love diners. The only thing that could make them better is if they allowed dogs.
Hope you had a great dinner and brought home at least a little doggy bag for the pups.
Actually, the dinner we had yesterday at the diner was just as disappointing as the one we had at Cracker Barrel last year. So, what we didn’t/couldn’t eat stayed on the plate. The only part of the meal that wasn’t disappointing was the cranberry sauce. We came home and snacked on cheese and crackers later on. What the pups don’t know can’t bother them.
Cs all the way!!
You’re in good company here.
I love my over-achieving, mostly B’s buddies. But I can’t match them for passion or performance. 🙂
From the Husband:
I used to be a straight A student.
But B-cause of my lovely wife and my wonderful dog, I’m much better now, you C.
And I’m thankful for them both.
I’ll reply to you privately.
How can I not invite my dogs to dinner? One lays by the oven waiting for the turkey to cook. The other lays by the fridge for days. I will admit to having them wait in the living room during dinner. As the table is being cleared they each get a bowl of turkey and plain veggies. Topped with a spoonful of whipped cream. Gotta have desert!
Happy Thanksgiving from a “C”.
They also know when Santa is coming.
Those are some smart pups. 🙂
I’ve taught Honey to lie on her bed while I’m cooking by tossing her a morsel every so often. Everyone who sees it thinks she has beautiful manners. But I know it’s just her way of begging.
Great quiz!! Happy Thanksgiving!! 😀
We stayed home and made our own dinner and the dogs got some, too!
I bet Zoe and Phoenix were happy to keep you and your husband from overeating. After all, they need to look after you and keep you healthy. 🙂
Except for the table scraps, I’m probably a C. However, they do get vegetables while I’m cooking. Somehow its different when I’m fixing food compared to when I’m eating it. Theo leaned against the oven door for about an hour today, pretty sure he thought the turkey was for him. I hope you, Mike, and Honey had a happy Thanksgiving!
Are you sure Theo was hungry for the turkey? Or was he just trying to keep warm?
I’ve found myself hugging the oven door a bit lately. 🙂
Ha ha ha! We don’t take our dogs to Thanksgiving dinner because it is WAY too crowded at my in-laws’ house, but I always miss having them there. We used to take them, but people keep having kids and the kids that existed keep getting bigger, while the house stays the same size. Frankly, I don’t trust a few of the kids to be on their best behavior around our dogs, anyway, so for us, it has more to do with practicality than anything else. We come home and have our own quiet Thanksgiving with the dogs later.
In truth, the dogs are probably relieved to get some quiet time on Thanksgiving. Morgan would probably explode from the awesome responsibility of guarding all those people.
Such a perfect Thanksgiving post! These guys (plus our neighbor’s dog, who we were watching) got their own plates of Thanksgiving with cranberries, broccoli casserole, potatoes, peas, and a bite of a roll. They wouldn’t expect anything less – nor would I give them anything less – for the holiday!